Assessment of Land Use, Land Cover dynamics and Geospatial Indices for the environmental impact of mining in Salem Chalk Hills, South India

Land Use and Land Cover dynamics (LULC) are closely related to the urban land surface temperature (LST) and their environment. Recently, the spectral indices are effectively used to assess the effect on urban landscapes. The main objective of the research focuses on Land Use and Land Cover dynamics and spectral indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and LST patterns with the relationship among them between 1992 and 2023 in the Salem Chalk Hills, South India. The LULC were categorised into six classes, all the spectral indices were classified into five classes each for the impact assessment. The comparison methods of all the spectral indices result the built-up area increased consequently and other LULC significantly declined during the decades of 1992–2023. The final results revealed that LST increased over the three decades of study, while the NDVI and NDWI indices gradually decreased in the study area. It indicated that due to Magnesite mining activities the LST will increase in the future in the area, so immediate attention is needed in order to reduce the LST in the mining area for sustainable development.